First, the Denver Post says Alan Cockrell is the frontrunner for the vacant hitting coach job, and will get a formal interview today. I agree with the premise of hiring from within first if possible, and if Cockrell's got the goods, then by all means the Rockies should go for it. Of course, I also believe in hiring the best available talent, so if he doesn't well, then the Rox deserve the reward for their cronyism. What does Cockrell's record with Rockies prospects say about his qualifications? If you take a look at hitters who seem to have either taken large steps to reach or exceed their ceilings under his tutelage he comes out alright. Garrett Atkins and Clint Barmes for instance, immediately come to mind as players that didn't show as much before Cockrell as they have after. Jeff Baker and Jeff Salazar also seem to have brought their hitting games up a level at AAA from what they did at lower levels. Marks against him might be found in Jayson Nix and Omar Quintanilla, while II'd say the jury's still out on Choo Freeman.
Meanwhile Colorado Rockies radio announcers Jack Corrigan and Jeff Kingery, as well as TV announcer George Frazier are up for the Ford Frick award. I hope Kingery wins someday as he really has become the voice of the Rockies, although the committee who decides these things seem to prefer announcers who have been broadcasting for longer than his fourteen years. Personally, I like Corrigan too, I think we've got a stellar radio crew even if our TV guys are a bit iffy at times. At any rate, you can vote for any or all three to help them be among the ten finalists at mlb.com.
While handing out Halloween candy last night, I was reminded of the Rockies whenever I saw a box of Good & Plenty for some reason. Probably has to do with the purple coloring, true, but it's a better match then Purple Nerds, I think. I remember hating all licorice flavored candies when I was younger, but my taste buds have matured to grow an appreciation for the more subtle tones of anise, but I'm still not sure how comfortable I am with my mental association there. I don't know why I'm bringing this up. Anyway, I also thought of the Cardinals when I saw Hot Tamales, so I think knowing my quirkiness I'm going to have to figure out a candy representative for each of the 30 MLB teams before I really go crazy. Not that figuring out candy representatives for MLB teams isn't crazy enough to begin with.
SB Nation's Rookie of the Year winners will be announced today, I'll put that post up around ten mountain time.